Large composite structures are sometimes fabricated by joining together composite sandwich panels. For example, in the aerospace industry, curved composite sandwich panels may be joined together to form barrel sections used for space exploration vehicles, fuel tanks and airplane fuselages, to name a few. The panel segments may be assembled on a cylindrical cure mandrel and then processed in an autoclave to co-cure the panel segments and form an integrated structure with strong joints between the panel segments.
Autoclave curing of the composite structures mentioned above possesses several disadvantages. For example, relatively large composite structures, such as barrel-shaped fuselage sections, may require the use of large size autoclaves which are relatively expensive and may displace large amounts of factory floor space. Such autoclaves may represent a substantial capital investment where multiple sets of equipment are required to support higher production requirements. Furthermore, commercially available autoclaves may not be large enough to accommodate large composite structures approaching ten meters in diameter or more.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of joining sandwich panels into relatively large composite structures which obviates the need for co-curing the panels in an autoclave. There is also a need for a method of fabricating relatively large scale composite structures using multiple panel segments that are bonded together.